Thirsty Thursdays: It's a Recipe for Disaster

HR Compliance: Fake it ‘til you make it – Recipe for Disaster

Like it or not, you stepped into the world of HR compliance when you started your company. Small businesses are required to comply with up to 15 Federal Labor Laws even if they have just one to ten employees. Fines under HIPAA can exceed $55,000 and more than twice that for repeat violations under OSHA. I won’t even add on the State Laws.

Most small business owners don’t know this. When they learn about HR compliance requirements they usually try to figure it out on their own, or use someone already on staff to handle it. No one can blame you. Why would you hire someone who represents pure cost to the bottom line when their value is hidden somewhere between the lawsuits you avoided and fines you didn’t pay?

TICK - BLIND SPOTSOne of the hardest kinds of lessons we’ve all learned in our lives was when we made mistakes of ignorance. We’ve all come to understand that there is so much we don’t know and sometimes letting the experts handle things is the best option. As business owners, when we first try to figure HR out on our own not only do we soon realize how much we don’t know, we spend twice as much time learning and twice as much time implementing solutions. That’s time away from growing our business. And it's time we don’t have to give.

As we try to learn these new HR responsibilities, the HR challenges continue to pile up. It doesn’t stop because we’re learning a new set of skills. As we try to handle these new HR duties we risk missing something, or possibly make an error which we don’t even know is a mistake at the time. That gives us a false sense of security but doesn’t protect the company from that risk. False security is worse than knowing a risk exists.

TICK - WINGIN' ITOften the next step we take is to put ad hoc, non-HR persons already on staff in charge of HR compliance. Now is when the alarms should be going off in your head. A study conducted by ADP shows that most frequently it is Finance or the Office Manager that gets saddled with being ad hoc HR. THe study also indicated that most companies utilize more than one non-HR person. Now CEO’s/Owners are getting HR off their desk, but they’re picking other inexperienced staff, and the dangers are compounded because using more than one person invites inconsistencies in how HR tasks are handled. And we all know that handling of certain, sensitive issues in an inconsistent manner can be an opening for claims of unfairness and discrimination.

ADP’s study also doesn’t inspire confidence in this solution. 1 of 5 ad hoc HR staff have confidence in their abilities to successfully execute the HR duties. And given the choice, only 1 of 3 would volunteer to keep doing their HR duties while only 1 in 10 actually enjoy the HR work. Not exactly a vote of confidence for something so important.

BOOM! - PICKING UP THE PIECESOften times one of three events happen that finally changes the mindset. An internal complaint of a serious nature, something such as a sexual harassment allegation or claims of a severe ethical breach occurs and can decimate a company's culture and morale. The second event that can happen is when that internal complaint goes external and becomes an EEOC Claim or a lawsuit. Like the internal complaint that crushes morale,but this is worse as it spills over into a public forum and now clients and competitors can see the claims against the company. The third event that can bring about a crash course in HR compliance would be an audit from a regulatory agency like the Department of Labor or OSHA. And often one of the required remedies of external complaints and audits is the company must implement training and other mitigating measures relative to the laws they've violated. Now the company can’t afford to make a mistake again so it means begrudgingly hiring experienced HR staff. Now the entire advent of the HR function is borne out of regret. Not a recipe for success by any means!

Grow Your Business or HR Compliance???

What if you could secure that HR expertise you need to protect your company and that support was on your terms for your specific needs? What if that same resource could grow with your business and provide you the support you need from HR Compliance to HR Operations to HR and Business Strategy? And what if instead of at least three people to fill those needs as you grew you only had to pay for a fraction of one at each step of the way?

HR4ALL’s unique Priority Client Subscription Service fits just right. Starting out with HR Compliance in Tier I, this service along with an updated Employee Handbook and an Ethics Hotline will get you the peace of mind that your company is protected and meeting its obligations. Click HERE to learn all about Tier One support.

Then as your company grows you may need project-based support until the time you hit a size where the strategic planning and execution of Tier II makes sense. You get to hand off compliance to an internal HR person you’ll probably have hired at that stage and HR4ALL can help you and your executive team to create a strategic corporate plan. Then HR4ALL takes that and crafts a comprehensive strategic plan for the HR functions. Then we get to work growing your business together.

And both service levels come with HR4ALL’s Priority Client Commitment. It puts you at the front of the line every time you have an urgent need.

Let the experts handle your HR needs and you stay focused on your business. And coming soon is a new service model to make HR Compliance support even more affordable for companies in related industries. Learn more HERE.

Thirsty Thursdays are about our collective thirst for learning and knowledge. It’s not about Beer:30 [although HR4ALL is all for that, too!] We hope this weekly nugget of knowledge opens your mind and gives you a reason to pause and think differently. Have a great weekend everyone!

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Harris Ingram LLP is a boutique business and intellectual property law practice that provides legal advice to some of the most innovative creatives and emerging companies in the arts, entertainment, digital media, tech, and fashion industries.